Markus Wheaton and DeAndre Hopkins are both listed in round one this week. Why? Because they’re both worthy of round one grades. Simple. While a lot of people want to concentrate on Keenan Allen (not included in the first two rounds here) and Justin Hunter (second round projection) I think Wheaton and Hopkins are the two players most likely to succeed from this receiver class. The only receiver who goes higher is Brandon Coleman. He has a much higher ceiling, but he’s likely to need a redshirt year in the NFL to max out his potential. Coleman has much more upside, but isn’t quite as polished in only his second year of college football.

I'd be a little surprised if the Hawks took a LB in round 1 that wasn't a "dynamic/playmaker" type but I don't think we could too wrong taking a guy like Arthur Brown. He sounds like a very well rounded, physical player.

Danny Kelly tweeted that article a bit ago, and it gave a nice breakdown of the two LBs.

Anyways I found it interesting that Arthur Brown was considered an extremely good block shedder, something both KJ and Wagner do well. It might give the defense more freedom to go small and fast upfront at times.

How good is he in coverage? I feel that good coverage is critical for a WLB needs if we are gonna spend a first round pick on one. That or great pass rush ability. Maybe I just like thinking about Alec Ogletree too much. Anyways the point I'm trying to get at is Arthur Brown more run orientated or is plenty good at other things? Do you think his speed size match what Pete and John are looking for? Could Malcolm Smith or a another 4th round find like KJ Wright do the trick if you're not getting a dynamic linebacker in the first?

It is nice though, at each position we have a "hole" or question mark there is a pile of players that might be able to get the job done.

Arthur Brown is the younger brother of the Eagles rookie RB Bryce Brown. Football outsiders has been raving about Brown in recent weeks and when I've watched him I quickly understood why Chris Polk got buried on that roster. Brown is a terrific athlete. So if nothing else, Arthur Brown has the bloodline factor working in his favor.

Aurthur Brown is a MLB though. From reading that article it seems he really clicked after moving from outside linebacker to inside linebacker. I'd be fine with drafting him though and moving Wagner to WLB. Wagner is outstanding in man coverage and is growing as a blitzer. I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that Wagner's skillset is equally if not more suited for the weakside.

That said, from what little I've seen of Brown he's not looked very impressive to me. He looks skinny, he misses a lot of tackles, and just doesn't pop off the screen. I need to see more, but my first impression on him wasn't good. Might be a case of a guy being over-rated because of the team he plays for and the family he belongs to (and the prospect rating he had out of high school).

Last edited by kearly on Thu Dec 06, 2012 12:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

kearly wrote:Arthur Brown is the younger brother of the Eagles rookie RB Bryce Brown. Football outsiders has been raving about Brown in recent weeks and when I've watched him I quickly understood why Chris Polk got buried on that roster. Brown is a terrific athlete. So if nothing else, Arthur Brown has the bloodline factor working in his favor.

Aurthur Brown is a MLB though. From reading that article it seems he really clicked after moving from outside linebacker to inside linebacker. I'd be fine with drafting him though and moving Wagner to WLB. Wagner is outstanding in man coverage and is growing as a blitzer. I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that Wagner's skillset is equally if not more suited for the weakside.

That said, from what little I've seen of Brown he's not looked very impressive to me. He looks skinny, he misses a lot of tackles, and just doesn't pop off the screen. I need to see more, but my first impression on him wasn't good. Might be a case of a guy being over-rated because of the team he plays for and the family he belongs to (and the prospect rating he had out of high school).

Just one correction, Arthur is the older brother. He went to Miami they transferred back to KStae. The Browns are from Kansas, and at one time Bryce(went to Tenn) was very close to being a Duck. It's curious how Kstate was able to get away with recruiting the Browns and Chris Harper back to Kansas, after Snyder took over again.

Last edited by CPHawk on Thu Dec 06, 2012 2:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

On 1 hand you've got Brown whose undersized but is very consistent. Probably very pro-ready and will come in and start for whomever drafts him.On the other hand you've got Ogletree whose learning the position, who has more length and size to him and is extremely athletic.

Just looking at their size, Ogletree seems more what PC favors in Lbers- Namely length and athleticism. But would he want to deal with someone who is still learning the position and his consistency would be challenged.

Then again you look at Malcolm Smith who is listed @ 6-0, 226. Yet he's been a solid pickup in the 7th round. Can he be our WILL of the future. Could possibly Korey Toomer 6-2,234 (more of the build of Ogletree) be that guy with a year under his belt in the system next year.

Who would you guys prefer. I don't really like the idea of taking Brown if that means moving Wagner to the outside, I think they you weaken both positions as the growing pains will be amplified. Brown has the size of Lavonte David, whose doing very well in Tampa Bay. So who knows.

Might be worth arguing which 'playmaker' we should take as an alternative and why exactly this linebacker in particular isn't worth the pick. Anyone can say, "we should do this in the draft" without actually looking at the players that are out there.

That said I wouldn't mind an offensive weapon in the first for Wilson. I like Rice and Tate but behind them it's pretty bare.

You don't draft depth in the 1st round Hasselbeck. We can wait for the second to make an investment in a 3rd WR/potential to be a #2 or #1 guy.

Teams draft depth in the first round all the time. Especially good teams drafting in the late first who are loaded with talent (where hopefully we are). Good teams don't ignore the value of a good player because he's not a Day 1 starter.

As long as they fit a role on this team that we are lacking, and do so pretty well, I could care less if it's a big role or not and I don't think the front office will care either, ex. Bruce Irvin.

"People who don't punch their ponies in the face make me sick." - Louis C.K.

Receiver is a crucial need. Let's say Sidney Rice gets injured today... it's not like he hasn't had injury issues in his career. Suddenly you're pretty much relying on Golden Tate and Baldwin. If you want to run a 3WR set, you're putting Jermaine Kearse on the field. We have to make life as easy as possible for Wilson, and that means having good depth at WR.

Barkley has the arm strength of Leinart, though not the laziness and need to be in the party spotlight. He can be a on again off again starter for 10-12 years, with a up side of being similar to Hass, if he gets in the right system with a great QB coach.